Search Results for: Hurricane Harvey

Microgrids in Texas proved their worth during Hurricane Harvey, as described in this final entry of a six-part Microgrid Knowledge Special Report Series on the rise of the reliability-as-a-service model and the onset of the affordable microgrid.
Hurricane Harvey left Texas with $125 billion in damages, record rainfall, flooding that … [Read more...]

While the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and the West’s wildfires are fresh in our minds, it’s critical to start focusing on grid resiliency -- and how distributed energy can contribute to it.
Utilities and state regulators right now focus more on grid reliability than grid resiliency, said Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of the Energy Storage … [Read more...]

Stories are just beginning to emerge about microgrids and distributed energy systems that are keeping critical services up and running despite Hurricane Harvey's best efforts to do them in.
Twenty-one convenience stores and gas stations in the Houston area remained open thanks to an unusual microgrid system designed by Enchanted Rock … [Read more...]

Pace Energy & Climate Center's Joseph O'Brien-Applegate and Tom Bourgeois explore the resiliency lessons learned following Hurricane Sandy, and insight that can be garnered from Japan's experience with the superstorm.
As we mark the sixth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, its impact is still fresh in the mind of many in the Northeast. … [Read more...]

How best to go about rebuilding is the multi-billion dollar question hanging over the US Virgin Islands as it picks itself up from massive destruction wrought by the recent hurricanes.
Hurricanes Irma and Maria took a heavy toll on the islands' electric grids. Irma left St. Thomas and St. John without electricity when it made landfall early … [Read more...]

Still two weeks away, Microgrid 2017, the largest microgrid conference in the world, is nearly sold out as interest in microgrids heightens following a devastating hurricane season that left millions of North Americans without power.
To be held Nov. 6-8 in Boston, the event is being hosted by Microgrid Knowledge, the International District … [Read more...]

Microgrid Knowledge offers a library of industry white papers and reports that we update regularly. Top microgrid whitepapers for 2018 -- those downloaded the most -- covered microgrid financing, clean energy microgrids, business models, electrical reliability and more.
The most popular reports came from Siemens, Schneider Electric, Eaton, … [Read more...]

Veolia's Mike Byrnes discusses the importance of turning hindsight into foresight by planning and implementing energy resiliency ahead of the next natural disaster.
Natural disasters are occurring more frequently, more severely, and impacting inland as well as coastal communities. Hurricane Florence is just the latest example. A well … [Read more...]

Microgrids are not just for reliability. They also are used to manage energy pricing through leveraging wholesale markets. We explain how in part five of this six-part Microgrid Knowledge Special Report Series on reliability-as-a-service and the affordable microgrid.
Gas-fired microgrids offer operational flexibility that is crucial to … [Read more...]

We explore the advantages of natural gas-fired microgrids in part four of a six-part Microgrid Knowledge Special Report Series on the affordable microgrid.
Microgrids can use a variety of generation sources: natural gas, diesel, flywheels, fuel cells, energy storage, solar panels and even wind turbines.
Here we look at what natural gas … [Read more...]

Industry Perspectives

Ameresco’s vice president of microgrid services, Will Agate, describes the process of getting started on your microgrid project — the very first step of which is to carefully consider and define the needs of your organization and its community.

White Papers

In the early 20th century, the centralization of electricity production made huge process, enabling significant economies of scale and improved power plant efficiency. Today, decentralization could help tackle the energy challenges of the 21st century by creating an optimized way to access reliable, green and resilient energy. Download the white paper from Schneider Electric that explores decentralization and the role of microgrids.